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TE LINE THE OFFENSIVE assists, which tied with Alex Galchenyuk for second on the team. Trouba chipped in five assists and McCabe had three. Until Gaudreau went on his goal-scoring binge starting with the Slovakia game, Trouba led the team with four goals. The goals came at crucial times from defenders willing to shoot, shoot and shoot some more. McCabe scored the first two goals against Canada in the semifinals to spark the first win over their rival in that round of the tournament ever. In total, every defenseman had a point in the tournament. Trouba and Jones combined for 41 shots on goal as many power play chances ran through the point. That success led to impressive plus/ minus ratings by tournament's end. McCabe, who has a reputation as a shut down defenseman at the University of Wisconsin, finished with a plus-9 rating. His linemate for the last four games of the tournament Jones was plus 8. Connor Murphy, who bruised his knee blocking a PHOTOS PROVIDED BY Images on Ice shot in the gold-medal game, was plus 5. The IIHF didn't track blocked shots but an unofficial tally against Sweden had eight blocked shots by U.S. defenders. In one shift Trouba had two blocked shots and cleared the puck on a single penalty kill. Not only were the U.S. defenders the right combination of offensive skill and poise with the puck, it helps to have a netminder like John Gibson as the last line of defense. Gibson, who won tournament MVP as well as the directorate award for best goaltender, praised the defense for their ability in the U.S. zone to clear pucks and, well, defend. "They played great," Gibson said. "They make my job look easier back there with their gaps and the way they clear the puck out. "When the defense is playing well and the forwards are back pressuring it makes me look better." N USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM Morgan Reilly (above), Jake McCabe and Seth Jones (below) combined for 16 points to help lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship. FEBRUARY. 2013 21